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Boiling Stones and Bison Bones name:

Go to and then click on picture # 102. Look at the image and read the explanation below the image.

1. What is the name for the type of scientists who search for and study evidence left by past human cultures?

2. Explain what “fire-cracked rocks” (FCR) are and tell why they are cracked (or broken).

3. Many people think that all bison kill sites were “buffalo jumps”. That is not true. List three other ways that Native Americans trapped bison so they could be killed.

4. What took place at “processing areas” located near kill sites?

5. Click on the word (link) “marrow”. How did Native Americans extract the marrow so it could be eaten?

6. Return to the previous web page (boiling.html). Why do archaeologists believe grease from bison bones was so important to Native Americans?

7. In the illustration that appears on the web page, what is the lady dumping into the water?

8. Why is the older man (illustration) breaking the bones into smaller pieces before they are put into the boiling water? (Hint: It’s the same reason that hard candy dissolves faster in your mouth when you crunch it into smaller pieces.)

8. What were the basic ingredients used to make pemmican?

9. Read the section titled “Harvesting the Grease” and then watch the 3-4 minute video (The Boiling Stones Demonstration). You do not need to have the sound on. List three differences between the way Native Americans boiled water and the way it was done in the video.

10. In the video, besides adding heat to the water, what else did the hot stones bring to the water?

11. Besides stones, list three other materials/resources that Native Americans needed boil bones. (THINK!)

12. Return to the previous web page (boiling.html). What evidence convinced archaeologists that Native Americans preferred quartzite for boiling water?

13. What was the disadvantage of using sandstone for boiling water?

14. There are very few places in north-central Montana where geological processes caused quartzite to be formed. So, why are there so many quartzite cobbles in this part of the state?

15. Click on the link titled “Rock from Canada”. Where was this photo taken, and what is the reason for having you look at it? (THINK!)

16. Return to the previous web page (boiling.html). What are the three characteristics that help archaeologists identify fire-cracked rocks?

17. Scroll down and click on the Hot Link titled “More about boiling stones”. Based on the photo, name an object that is about the same size as a “cobble”.

18. Which Montana tribe’s name means “those who cook with stones”?

19. Read the section titled “Fire-cracked rock”, and then look at the photo at the bottom of the web page. Since these FCRs formed as a result of “The Boiling Stones Demonstration”, what specific type of FCR are they?

20. Wahkpa Chu'gn is a bison kill site located at Havre in north-central Montana. Select the link titled “Click here to take a virtual tour of Wahkpa Chu'gn”. Take the virtual tour, using the links titled “next stop” to advance. Read the captions and look at the images. Describe how the Native Americans captured the bison at this kill site?

21. Look at the photo at the top of the last page of the tour (Stop #11)). How is the function of the pit shown in this photo different from that of a pit used to boil bison bones? (THINK!)

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